3 NFL teams that are an offseason away from getting back into the playoffs

The 2018 regular season is in the wraps and now it’s time for 12 teams to get ready for the playoffs. For the others who had disappointing campaigns, it’s time to reflect on why they came up short on their season goals.

There are 20 teams that missed the playoffs, but a few of them have a real chance to get back on track and go on a run during the 2019 season — but only if they nail the offseason.

Here are three of those teams that can get back to form with an effective offseason.

Minnesota came into the season as legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Last season, the Vikings made it all the way to the NFC Championship and were expected to at least make it back into the playoffs after replacing Case Keenum with Kirk Cousins.

That did not happen.

Cousins put up great counting stats (4,298 yards, 30 touchdowns, 10 interceptions), but when Vikings needed him to make a play, he really struggled — Minnesota’s Monday night game against the Seattle Seahawks and season finale against the Chicago Bears were perfect encapsulations of Cousins’ season.

Cousins threw for just 132 yards on 4 yards an attempt against the Bears and then for 208 yards against the Seahawks. Cousins had a Quarterback Rating of 17.7 against the Bears and a 26.7 rating against the Seahawks — both of those scores are out of 100.

The Vikings have serious work to do on the offensive line if they want to get the offense to a place where Cousins can be comfortable. He’s not exactly the “think on your feet” type like Keenum was in the 2017 season. Those offensive line issues also led to a struggling run game that only finished 24th in yards per carry.

The offensive line has to be the position that the Vikings look to upgrade the most this offseason. The Vikings appear to have a keeper in rookie offensive tackle Brian O’Neill, but the rest of the group needs an overhaul. Veteran players Mike Remmers and Riley Reiff have contracts that are easy to move on from this offseason, while the rest of their offensive line are all on rookie deals or minimum deals for veterans. The team will also be a season removed from the sudden passing of offensive line coach Tony Sparano, who Mike Zimmer said was “innovative in the running game” and helped them develop a tough mentality as a unit.

If the Vikings’ defense can stay afloat, they should be able to find themselves back in the playoff hunt for the 2019 season. Minnesota’s defense finished fifth in big-play rate and first in third-down success rate — the pieces are still in place to have an imposing defense.

The Falcons were supposed to be an NFC powerhouse this season too. Between 2016 and 2017, Atlanta had a record of 21-11, an MVP campaign from Matt Ryan, a Super Bowl appearance, and a playoff win as the sixth seed against the Los Angeles Rams.

Coming into 2018, they were expected to continue their success from the past two seasons. Unfortunately for Atlanta, injuries derailed its campaign early on. Deion Jones, Keanu Neal, Ricardo Allen, Brandon Fusco, Andy Levitre, and Devonta Freeman were all starters who missed significant time — or missed the season altogether.

With an offseason to (hopefully) get those guys healthy and add talent, Atlanta should be able to compete for the division title with the New Orleans Saints. The first order of business for the Falcons should be shoring up the trenches — especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Atlanta needs to sign Grady Jarrett to a long-term deal, then figure out what it’s going to do with 2015 first-round pick Vic Beasley Jr. Since leading the league in sacks with 15.5 in 2016, Beasley has just 10 sacks in 30 games. The Falcons need to decide if they’re going to keep Beasley on his fifth-year option, worth $12.8 million or bring him back on a revised deal (or just cut him outright).

The Falcons are making big changes in the coaching staff. They fired offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel, special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong, and tight ends coach Wade Harman. Head coach Dan Quinn is taking over DC duties.

They have work to do on the offensive line too. Quinn said this week that he wants big improvement out of the left guard, right guard, and right tackle positions.

Atlanta will pour resources into the trenches this offseason. If the Falcons can hit on their draft picks and free agent signings, this team already has the skill talent to get back into the postseason.

The Green Bay Packers still have some uncertainty while they search for a new head coach, but they’ll always be in a position to compete for the playoffs as long as Aaron Rodgers is their starting quarterback.

Like the other two teams on this list, the Packers need help in the trenches. David Bakhtiari might be the best left tackle in all of football, but they could use some long-term solutions at right guard after Lucas Patrick and Justin McCray were a bit shaky there throughout the season.

The defense could also use a boost to their edge rush. Clay Matthews had just 3.5 sacks this season and Nick Perry only had 1.5 sacks in the nine games he played. Kyler Fackrell appeared to have a legitimate breakout campaign with 10.5 sacks, but he had two games with three sacks (Bills, Seahawks) and struggled to put pressure on the quarterback for the remainder of the season.

Another need that the Packers have is at wide receiver. Davante Adams is a stud, but the Packers could use some competition at the receiver spots outside of him. Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown look like solid wide receiver prospects, but bringing in a free agent or a high draft pick would benefit this offense — Green Bay currently has about $44 million in cap space.